What to do about truck???

[Bassboy1645]

I have a 94 ford explorer. where do I start???

Transmission on death bed

4x4 dont work

anitlock brakes went out and ive alomst been seriously hurt or killed becasue of them

radiator leak

front tires stick out 7 inches past wheel well and slanted severly inward

the list goes on and the rest are minor problems. Im a senior in high school with a dead end job. what do i do? mom wont sign a loan for me and they wont buy me one casue they simply cant afford one. im looking at chevy s10s all under 4 grand but it will take me soo long to get it. im looking at weeks if not days that my truck is gonna last me. i havent hunted or fished in a month because of work and all i got to show for it after expenses is 100 bucks. life just blows right now. What would u do???? one last problem ITS A FORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jeremy airjer W]

At the end of the month I have about $50 left over.

I guess it doesn't get better so get use to it!!

I'd get a honda civic. Cheap and reliable. The last thing I would do is get an s-10. You'll be jumping of a sinking ship into a sinking life boat. S-10's are well known for ball joints, oil cooler lines, weak transmissions, intake gaskets leaking, poor EGR design, cpi untits and fuel pumps.

If you need a pickup why not look around for a pre 95 toyota. Get the 2.4 litre 4 cylinder (v-6 had head gasket problems). Even with a billion miles on it it would still be more dependable than a ranger or s-10.

[rundrave]

all I can say is welcome to the real world, I dont mean that to be offensive. everybody goes through tough times, and everybody has up and downs.

I know fishing and hunting is a great way to vent the stress from said problems.

Your doing the right thing by already working. You seem to already have a budget going, knowing what you can and cannot spend. Just take it one day at a time. Keep your head up, and hopefully things will start looking up for you.

Nothing wrong with driving a vehicle until the wheels fall off, but safety is a thing to look at too. Hopefully you can find a steal of a deal, that will work with your budget.

Good luck to you!

[SCUMFROG]

There are a lot of little dealerships in the cities that let you put half down and pay them ever other week. you should check into on of those..

[Powerstroke]

HAve you ever tried fixing any of these things. I realize that the tranny can't be fixed in the driveway, but if the wheels are angled inward you need and alignment if you're lucky. I'm sur ethe ball joints are shot.

Ball joints can be done at home. If you don't fix these then the rest of the vehicle won't be worth driving cause the wheels will literally "FALL OFF".

You don't need 4wd or ABS. Try finding the radiator leak. If its a bad hose or maybe a loose ocnnection this will cost you a few minutes of time and maybe a couple bucks.

My point is you can fix these things yourself. Every vehicle you ever own will encounter these problems. The only difference is you've let them get so far gone that they may not be worth saving.

Would you ever fish with line 10 yrs old? A reel thats never been lubricated. How bout a gun thats never been cleaned? a bow thats got a string with nicks in it or limbs that are cracked? Of course not.

You need to maintain your equipment including your vehicle. Learn how to do things yourself and you will save yourself money.

I owuld tell you that beer goes a long way in recruiting knowledgable people to help you, but you can't buy beer.

[fish2live]

how much can you muster up right now? i know there is a 90's chevy 1500 4 wheel drive lots of miles but the guy says it runs real well, just search the for sale part i don't know how to attach a link but it is there he says 1500 or best offer you may want to try that route. sorry to hear about your bad luck but we have all been there

[nolte]

airjr

It's funny you mention those problems with s-10s. I have a 95 4x4(150,000 miles) that is my beat around truck now and it had ball joints, egr sensor problems(mechanics were clueless on that one), remote oil line broke, and a fuel pump. Also had to replace the alternator.

What would you suggest for small truck from 98 to about 04. When this one dies I'm going to look for a replacement.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Nolte,

Toyota Tacoma! Everybody knows that!

[nolte]

airjer

That was my intuition, since everyone I've talked to has said that. Thanks for another opinion to confirm my decision.

[Guest]

Bassboy..

I'm no giving you a lecture here.. but if the truck is that bad... send it away to a scrap yard, or sell it to someone that will fix it. You are better off riding a bike to work than killing someone on the way to work because your vehicle isnt road worthy.

You can find a beater that will start, drive, and stop for cheaper than you can repair your truck yourself.. let alone what a shop is going to charge you.

Its not impossible(actually pretty easy) to find older cheap vehicles out there.. you are better off with a $500 beater that requires regular maintence than the death trap you have now. Try Craigs List Dot Org and click on the local area and see what you can find.

Good luck.

[Blaze]

Quote:

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Bassboy..you are better off with a $500 beater that requires regular maintence than the death trap you have now.

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Speaking of which, I just came across a 91 F150 with 78K miles on it for $500. It needs an intake gasket and that's it. If you're interested, let me know - I can show ya where I found the ad.

Blaze